Holy Spirit

[Tellyontellyon]

The Holy Spirit doesn't seem to be talked about as much as God and Jesus, what exactly is the Holy Spirit?
For some, it seems like the most important person of God, for others it seems less central.
What is the difference between the holy spirit and the other person's of God?
Can you have different experiences with the different Gods, what's the difference in what they are like and with the experience of them.
Cheers

 

[bling]

That is another good question.

I just addressed this in your other thread but it might be better here:

Christians operate out of a gratitude type Love since we have been given everything up from there is no more to get, except actually living in heaven with God. We have a birth right (one of the things we get being born again), which is like a deed to a home in heaven, so even though we do not actually live-in heaven right now, it is our retirement home paid up.

The indwelling Holy Spirit is our down payment and assurance God will fulfill all His promises to us individually. The indwelling Spirit in me is not meant to be any assurance for you, but you can have the Spirit in you for your assurance. The way I am assured the Spirit dwells within me, is not to become your assurance of the Spirit. There is a fully logical reason for this to really help you, but that takes time to explain and goes back to man’s earthly objective.

We all start out without the indwelling Holy Spirit, so with only our own ability we cannot keep from eventually sinning, but not ever sinning is not our earthly objective.

Everything needs to start with the objective.

If there is this eternal intelligence it would be at the epitome of the best it could be and not in the process of improvement. It would be the ultimate bad or good but not somewhere in-between. Why be bad when He can be good just as easily? The ultimate “good” would be what is called Godly type Love (to be defined later) and is a totally unselfish type Love. Since this God would be able to direct our thinking, why would He have us think of him as being totally bad, when He could make us think bad was good and thus, He would be worthy of praise? If God were bad and we praise a “Good God” than we are not praising Him.



The difference and issues begin with misunderstanding of the objective. Most Christians like: Man’s objective is to bring glory to God” and have scripture references to support that objective, but a person can take any commandment of God given in scripture and have Biblical support for call that command: “Man’s objective”. We are certainly commanded to do that command, so why is it not man’s objective?

There are the two superior commands which all other commands are subordinate to and combined would be like: “Love God (and secondly others) with all your heart, soul, mind, and energy.” That appears to be man’s “Mission Statement”. The huge problem with fulfilling that “Mission Statement” is the fact that the “Love” needed would have to be huge, way beyond anything man could develop, learn, deserve, earn, pay back, be instinctive to man, or somehow just be forced upon humans.

Thus the reason you have free will, is because it is required for you to complete your earthly objective.

This messed up world which includes satan roaming around is not here for your pleasure, but to help you become like God Himself in that you have the unique, unbelievable Godly type Love (God himself is Love).

God has created beings to shower them with the greatest gifts possible, the greatest gift being having a Love like His.

If there is this Creator of the universe out there, His “creations” could not really “do” anything for Him, so this Creator would have to be seen as a Giver (Unselfish Lover) and not trying to “get” something from His creation.

Why would God have a totally unselfish type of Love, since He personally would not get anything out of it? If God’s “Love” is some kind of knee jerk reaction, then it is really meaningless (something like; gravity which is nice to have, but everyone automatically has it). God Loves us in spite of what we have done, who we are or what we will do, so it has to be by His choice.


God would create the right universe for the sake of the individuals that will accept His gift (the most powerful force [Love] in all universes, since that force [Love] compels even God to do all He does) and thus we become like He is (the greatest gift He could give).

What keeps the all-powerful Creator from just giving whatever He wants to his creation, eliminating the need for free will and this earthly time.

There are just somethings even an all-powerful Creator cannot do (there are things impossible to do), like create another Christ, since Christ has always existed, the big impossibility for us is; create humans with instinctive Godly type Love, since Godly type Love is not instinctive. Godly type love has to be the result of a free will decision by the being, to make it the person’s Love apart from God. In other words: If the Love was in a human from the human’s creation it would be a robotic type love and not a Godly type Love. Also, if God “forces” this Love on a person (Kind a like a shotgun wedding) it would not be “loving” on God’s part and the love forced on the person would not be Godly type Love. This Love has to be the result of a free will moral choice with real alternatives (for humans those alternatives include the perceived pleasures of sin for a season.)

This Love is way beyond anything humans could develop, obtain, learn, earn, pay back or ever deserve, so it must be the result of a gift that is accepted or rejected (a free will choice).

This “Love” is much more than just an emotional feeling; it is God Himself (God is Love). If you see this Love you see God.

All mature adults do stuff that hurts others (this is called sin) these transgressions weigh on them, burden them, to the point the individual seeks relief (at least early on before they allow their hearts to be hardened). Lots of “alternatives” can be tried for relief, but the only true relief comes from God with forgiveness (this forgiveness is pure charity [grace/mercy/Love]). The correct humble acceptance of this Forgiveness (Charity) automatically will result in Love (we are taught by Jesus and our own experience “…he that is forgiven much will Love much…”). Sin is thus made hugely significant, so there will be an unbelievable huge debt to be forgiven of and thus result in an unbelievable huge “Love” (Godly type Love).

After we initially obtain Godly type Love we no longer need to sin and need to grow that Love through use, so the Spirit is needed and the Spirit is Love like God is Love.

 

[AK1982]

God the Father, God the son and God the Holy spirit - Three in person but ONE in essence!

God the Father created us in His image to be in fellowship with Him. We sinned & lost the privilege forever, which is why we needed God the Son - Jesus Christ. Jesus reconciled us to God through His death on the cross. Jesus is the only way to the Father. The result of our salvation is that we live in fellowship with the true God because we live in fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ. And now, that fellowship is possible with the help of indwelling "God the Holy spirit" who convicts of sin, guides us to the truth, teaches, intercedes for us, leads us to spiritual fruit and will, as long as we live in this flesh, be the source of revelation, wisdom & power.

How awesome!!

 

[HTacianas]

The Holy Spirit doesn't seem to be talked about as much as God and Jesus, what exactly is the Holy Spirit?
For some, it seems like the most important person of God, for others it seems less central.
What is the difference between the holy spirit and the other person's of God?
Can you have different experiences with the different Gods, what's the difference in what they are like and with the experience of them.
Cheers

Philo of Alexandria described God as Father with two powers, one creative power and one regent power. Though they are one, His creative power is through which all things were created and are held together, and by His regent power he reigns over His creation. According to Philo, the untrained person sees God as three, but the trained person sees Him as one.

That creative power, the Word, or Mind of God, became incarnate and we know him as the Son. It is through the Son that the creation is held together, almost as if we live within the mind of God.

 

[Andrewn]

The Holy Spirit doesn't seem to be talked about as much as God and Jesus, what exactly is the Holy Spirit?
For some, it seems like the most important person of God, for others it seems less central.
What is the difference between the holy spirit and the other person's of God?
Can you have different experiences with the different Gods, what's the difference in what they are like and with the experience of them.
Cheers

Christians believe there is One God. What do you believe about God?

 

[Marumorose]

The Holy Spirit doesn't seem to be talked about as much as God and Jesus, what exactly is the Holy Spirit?
For some, it seems like the most important person of God, for others it seems less central.
What is the difference between the holy spirit and the other person's of God?
Can you have different experiences with the different Gods, what's the difference in what they are like and with the experience of them.
Cheers

God is the Holy Spirit. Everything exist because of the Holy Spirit.
2 Corinthians 3:17 says "Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom."
May God Bless you

 

[Maria Billingsley]

The Holy Spirit doesn't seem to be talked about as much as God and Jesus, what exactly is the Holy Spirit?
For some, it seems like the most important person of God, for others it seems less central.
What is the difference between the holy spirit and the other person's of God?
Can you have different experiences with the different Gods, what's the difference in what they are like and with the experience of them.
Cheers

The Holy Spirit is our connection to God. No Holy Spirit, no God. There is no difference between The Father, The Son and The Holy Spirit. They work as One.

 

[ViaCrucis]

The Holy Spirit doesn't seem to be talked about as much as God and Jesus, what exactly is the Holy Spirit?
For some, it seems like the most important person of God, for others it seems less central.
What is the difference between the holy spirit and the other person's of God?
Can you have different experiences with the different Gods, what's the difference in what they are like and with the experience of them.
Cheers

In the Nicene Creed we say this about the Holy Spirit:

"We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and Giver of Life, who proceeds from the Father [and the Son] and who with the Father and the Son is worshiped and glorified. He has spoken through the prophets."

Things to notice:

We call the Holy Spirit "Lord", even as we call the Father and the Son "Lord". Not as though there are three lords, but there is only one Lord. The Holy Spirit is called Lord because He, with the Father and the Son, is truly God and Lord.

We call Him "Giver of life", the translation of the Greek word ζῳοποιόν (zōopoion), literally, "life-maker" or "life-giver".

We say of Him that He proceeds from the Father [and the Son], the phrase "and the Son" is in brackets because this was a late addition to the Nicene Creed that was only accepted in the West, in the East this has never been part of the Nicene Creed. And it has been a matter of ongoing dispute and debate among Western and Eastern Christians for the last thousand years. That aside, we also use the term "spiration" to refer to the procession of the Holy Spirit, linking the language of Spirit with breath (which are effectively the same word in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin--ruach, pneuma, and spiritus respectively). The language is that the Father exhales, or breathes out the Holy Spirit; not in a literal way, just as when we say that the Son is begotten of the Father, we do not mean the Father literally procreates the Son.

The Spirit's procession or spiration from the Father [and the Son] is eternal, even as the Son's generation is eternal, there was never a time when the Father was without Son and Spirit; because God has no beginning and no end.

The Holy Spirit is Lord, Life-giver, and Breath of the Father which gives life, makes alive, brings and bears life to all. He--the Holy Spirit--is there in Genesis resting upon the abyssal waters of the primordial creation just before God with His Word commands creation into existence. The Holy Spirit is also the author of our life, our bodily life yes as God the Maker of all things, and also our spiritual life as He renews us and transforms us by the grace of God.

He is to be worshiped and glorified with Father and Son, because He is Lord, Life-Giver, Eternal and Almighty God. We therefore worship Him, honor Him, and praise Him as our Lord and God, which He is.

He has spoken through the prophets. He is the One who gave the ancient prophets their prophecy, the prophetic word came from God, from the Holy Spirit. And so St. Peter writes that no prophecy came by personal opinion, but rather those ancients were carried by the Holy Spirit (2 Peter 1:20-21).

It is by the power and work of the Spirit that all of God's gifts and works are appropriated to us. When the Gospel is preached, it is the Spirit who opens our ears, causing us to hear the word; and it is the Spirit who gives us faith to believe the word. The Holy Spirit regenerates us in the Sacrament of Baptism, which is why Jesus says we are to be born again of "water and the Spirit" (John 3:5). So it is the Holy Spirit who is at work in the preaching of the Gospel and in the Sacraments.

The Holy Spirit converts us.
The Holy Spirit also sanctifies us. He is the One who is at work in us, operating through Word and Sacrament, to lead us to daily repentance and to the ongoing work of God in sanctifying us, that is, making us holy, conforming us to the image of Jesus.

The Holy Spirit, no less than the Father and the Son, is active, at work, doing, saving, creating, healing. The Church's life and purpose is only by the power of the Holy Spirit at work in and through the Church. The Holy Spirit is the Church's Life.

-CryptoLutheran

 

[FutureAndAHope]

The Holy Spirit doesn't seem to be talked about as much as God and Jesus, what exactly is the Holy Spirit?
For some, it seems like the most important person of God, for others it seems less central.
What is the difference between the holy spirit and the other person's of God?
Can you have different experiences with the different Gods, what's the difference in what they are like and with the experience of them.
Cheers

I wrote this on the Holy Spirit The Seven Spirits of God used to explain the Trinity

 

[aiki]

The Holy Spirit doesn't seem to be talked about as much as God and Jesus, what exactly is the Holy Spirit?

He is the third Person of the Trinity - not merely a force, or some sort of ethereal gas, or energy but a divine Person who feels, thinks, and acts. It is in the Person of the Spirit that we are given spiritual life and united to Christ and God the Father. He is the believer's Teacher, Comforter and Strength, convicting them of sin, transforming the believer so that they are, progressively, more and more like Jesus. Essentially, the Spirit is the Power Source, the Life, of the born-again Christian.

It is with the Holy Spirit that the believer has the most direct experience of God. He it is who inhabits people, imparting to them the Life that he is, making them temples of God.

The Persons of the Trinity are not three separate Gods but three distinct Persons sharing a divine nature or essence. The incarnate Son and the Holy Spirit aren't just different forms the Father takes, either, who sort of assumes their forms but always, at bottom, is still the Father.

 

[1watchman]

God is a Spirit --holy and pure; and came in a man born of a virgin (Mary) as Jesus, the Christ. He is God on earth for us, and when the disciples saw Jesus, they saw God (see John 14 in your Bible). That is why He said: "no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me".

 

[Jeffwhosoever]

When the Lord Jesus ascended back into Heaven, He promised us a Comforter that would lead us into all truth, and at Pentecost, He sent the Holy Spirit to dwell in man. Previously, the Holy Spirit was in the world because Genesis tells us that the Spirit was hoovering above the waters, and at times the Holy Spirit had illuminated people prior to Pentecost. I have done things in this life that were impossible for me to do, and I know it was because of the Holy Spirit doing these things through me, such as speaking in front of a crowd at my grandmother's funeral. Afterward, her Senior Pastor she had known all her life and who followed me in my eulogy asked me if I was also a Pastor, and I said nope, not even close. In fact, I had written that eulogy on the 30 minute drive to the graveside service. No way on this earth I could have done so without being filled by the Holy Spirit, either in the creation process or public speaking process. Both were well beyond my abilities. It is true we walk by faith and not by sight, because we cannot see the Lord Jesus, the Father, or the Holy Spirit, but that doesn't mean we can't feel led at times, sometimes very powerfully led.